Kestra Investment Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP)

Kestra Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 40.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,141 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $334,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ADP. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 346.5% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 106 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Automatic Data Processing in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Automatic Data Processing during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. 80.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ADP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen increased their target price on Automatic Data Processing from $276.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $281.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Automatic Data Processing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $293.55.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Brian L. Michaud sold 362 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.83, for a total value of $106,366.46. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 13,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,027,233.98. This represents a 2.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Maria Black sold 721 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.59, for a total transaction of $210,236.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 68,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,077,721.04. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 5,478 shares of company stock worth $1,617,241. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of ADP stock opened at $313.22 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The business has a 50 day moving average of $298.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $289.59. The company has a market cap of $127.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.66, a PEG ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.79. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52 week low of $231.27 and a 52 week high of $313.72.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 80.86%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. Automatic Data Processing’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.23%.

Automatic Data Processing Company Profile

Automatic Data Processing, Inc provides cloud-based human capital management solutions worldwide. It operates in two segments, Employer Services and Professional Employer Organization (PEO). The Employer Services segment offers strategic, cloud-based platforms, and human resources (HR) outsourcing solutions.